Which One Is The Correct Gear?

[CINNALOCKS]

When I get on the freeway and the speed limit is 70, I am moving along in 3rd gear and the car runs fine but seems to be less efficient from a gas consumption point of view.

Yet when I put it in fourth in order for the engine to purr as I thnk it should and not create a drag on the transmission, I need to do about 2500 rpms which puts me at about 82 mph...... A problem with the Indiana State Police.

So how do I get the best of both worlds in my Q when on the freeway and running around 75mph, 3rd or 4th?

[qship96]

Whats wrong with doing 75MPH in 4th gear like the car was designed to do??? I dont understand your train of thought here???

[gammer_ghn]

Ok just drive at 2200 RPM so you go 75... Why is this such a big deal? you want to have your engine be in a higher RPM for no reason?

[elwesso]

I like to drive in 3rd gear until about 50MPH, after that I shift into D..

I hope that I didnt give you conflicting information about driving in 3rd gear?

[maxnix]

I am like Wes, but maybe a little higher until D.

I try to hold it down to 2250 in D. Well, for a little while, anyway.

[CINNALOCKS]

I like to drive in 3rd gear until about 50MPH, after that I shift into D..

I hope that I didnt give you conflicting information about driving in 3rd gear?

Wes actually it was something you said that made me ask this question. But now I guess I have the clarity I was looking for.

[smalcom]

Now I'm confused. My transmission has D,2,1. I had always assumed that overdrive was the fourth gear. Am I wrong? BTW I have a 97 Q45t.

[maxnix]

The RE04 in the FGY33 is gated in an inferior manner when compared to the G50. The button on the side of the selector knob limits it to 1-3 of permits OD lockup (4th) depending on if it is engaged or not.

[Haitian_King]

I like to drive in 3rd gear until about 50MPH, after that I shift into D..

I hope that I didnt give you conflicting information about driving in 3rd gear?

Have I been doing it wrong the whole time? I leave the car in D the whole time. I've never been sure when to shift when starting from 1 with the gear selector. I assume that if I don't shift until redline, by the time I hit third, I'll be in trouble with the local law.

I still don't know how to ride around town manually shifting without becoming eligible for a speeding citation.

[qship96]

Have I been doing it wrong the whole time? I leave the car in D the whole time. I've never been sure when to shift when starting from 1 with the gear selector. I assume that if I don't shift until redline, by the time I hit third, I'll be in trouble with the local law.

I still don't know how to ride around town manually shifting without becoming eligible for a speeding citation.

Just put it in D {drive} and drive it like a normal person...read owners manual for circumstances when you may use other positions. Geez, D works for million and millions of your fellow drivers of automatic transmission equipped cars on the road, andhas for the last 60+ years of the invention of the automatic transmission!

[elwesso]

ive tried to explain this before and I really think you're just making it more complicated than it needs to be.

When you put the car in 3rd gear, that means that it will behave normally UP UNTIL 3rd gear. In essence, when you use the selector that simply means it wont go past that gear...

so when you're in 1st, it will stay in 1st until you move it to 2

when you're in 2nd, it will shift normally from 1-2, but stay in 2nd until you move it to 3.

when you're in 3rd, it will shift 1-2-3 normally, but stay in 3rd until you move it to D.

When you're in D, it will go from 1-2-3-4.

In normal city driving, you realyl dont want to use 4th gear because you're constantly shifting between 3rd and 4th, not to mention the TC locks up at 40MPH, and its better to lock it in at 2000 RPM at 40MPH in 3rd vs 1250 in 4th.

Just give it a try. put it in 3rd gear instead of D when you go to use it next time and see what happens!

[maxnix]

3 in urban, D on the highway once you've reached cruising speed or downhill with little or no acceleration.

[Q45tech]

Getting that vague feeling in 4th with ac on up a mild incline at below 50 mph 1665 rpm -1800 rpm trying to maintain speed is the result of low rpm torque being insufficient to pull the Q weight.

Over years the compression declines [ring wear], the valve stems and plugs get dirty and the low rpm torque declines. The torque convertor wears and may lose efficiency.

Necessary to keep engine and transmission in clean perfect condition.

The margin is so low that even a 10% decline becomes noticable. Turning off ac proves the hypothesis.